


it's called a looker

by Rikuva



Category: Runaways (Comics), Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Ballroom Dancing, F/M, Knights - Freeform, but thats the idea, first work posted here!, forgive for bad, i feel like i should tag more things but i'm not sure what, i'm not good or anything, not like factually accurate or anything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21787429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikuva/pseuds/Rikuva
Summary: Sir Chasius Stein receives sudden news that he's been betrothed to his childhood friend Lady Gertrude Yorkes. When he arrives at the capital to meet her again, he finds her cold and resistant to even talking to him. Struggling with his feelings of betraying her, he tries to persuade her to let him in again.
Relationships: Chase Stein/Gertrude Yorkes
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26
Collections: Runaways Big Bang 2019





	1. Chapter 1

Chase lounged in the gardens, sketching some things as the sun shone down. It was early, but early was the only time he could really get any alone time, and he made sure to spend it doing the things he preferred people didn’t see. People didn’t like change, people like things that shifted and moved like they were alive. Chase liked both of those things. Which was a damn shame, because it would be so much easier if he didn’t. Then he could just sleep in during the mornings, enjoy jousting and sparring like he already did, flirting, wining, hunting, all the things he liked to do but without a secret little book where he sketched down proposals, thoughts, plans, calculations. At some point… he’d build them. Or one of them, if not all. He toyed with some of the pieces and parts and theories during these early mornings sometimes, to make sure something worked before he continued down the planning assuming that it did. That saved him time and effort sometimes, caught something that would have thrown the entire device into disarray in a more complete prototype. Then it would be back to the drawing board. Chase liked to build, but he liked to plan more. There was something relaxing about this, enjoying the sprawling of his legs out on the chaise, hearing birds chirp and bugs hum, loose and low cut undershirt exposing chest to the rising sun because no one cared this early in the morning about the decency of a man. Well, other than his mother and father, but they were only two of the many people residing in this castle, so in all likelihood, they wouldn’t be bothering him. 

“Where is Chase!” Chase jumped a little, or, not jumped, given, he was laying down, but he stirred surprised at the sound of his father. He shut the notebook, his stylus stuck in where he was just working. He took a deep breath, before surging to his feet and glancing towards where he had heard the voice, quickly catching sight of him. 

“Right here,” Chase called, reluctantly, but still. No reason to put this off, hiding and trying to avoid whatever thing his father had to say to him was not going to do anyone any good. He could feel the good mood sapping out of him, the birds and bugs becoming harbingers opposed to messengers of the dawn. His father turned, then, beaming, strode quickly over, clapped him on the shoulders.

“Put that down,” He demanded, clearly referring to the notebook, and Chase complied, tossing the notebook back onto the cushioned bench. His father seemed to look at him long, glancing from his face, making eye contact, drifting down, not even seeming to mind his lack of proper fine clothing, just… taking him in. Chase arched an eyebrow, confused at this particular gander. His father knew what he looked like. “My son,” Oh, it was something like this was it? Wanted to go on about legacy and crap? Chase pursed his lips, already feeling like he wanted to escape from his skin, abandon everything. But he didn’t. He stood there, and continued to wait, to hear what his father was going to end up saying. “I have good news! Ask me what it is,” He did seem to have good news, his tone was boisterous, excited. But good news for his father did not necessarily indicate good news for everyone else.   
“What is it?” Chase asked, his tone notably unexcited. His father didn’t seem to mind or notice though, still beaming.

“We have a match for you! A betrothal. We’ll be traveling to the capital to spend some time with her and her family before the wedding.” His father continued to say words, but Chase was struggling to keep up. It had always been hard for him and women, he had tried to flirt, but he had never felt good about doing it. He had had crushes, trivial thoughts, but nothing had ever seemed permanent. Chase never really thought of anything as permanent if he was being honest, things always seemed flexible, liable to growth or fixing if he just gave it some effort. A betrothal and a marriage was nothing of the sort. It was permanent, no matter what he imagined it. His father looked at him with those eyes like “I’m actually proud this is happening and I refuse to recognize any emotion on your face whatsoever”, which was better than his other typical expression which was clouded with… fury? Anyone’s guess. Chase swallowed, a little nervously. 

“Uhm, that is great news! Are you going to… tell me who it is?” Chase asked, assuming that he would get a name of another prominent lady in the region, of approximately his age or younger, but one that he had never met. It was typical of course, and logically, he had resigned himself to that fact, but of course emotionally he was still catching up, trying to figure out what this all meant. 

“Ah yes, yes, yes. Lady Gertrude Yorkes.” Chase would have done a spit take but alas, he had been without a cup of water for a while. His father continued to ramble onwards but Chase’s attention drifted. 

There was a tradition, showed solidarity Chase supposed, children of the kingdom were often sent to the capital to stay for a few years, get to know each other and the location, before returning home to finish their education and training under their respective parents. Of course, there was a certain… political bend to it, kept lords subservient lest they want their children to be in danger. Of course such a thing hadn’t happened in a long time, but still. The threat was there. Regardless, Chase had fond memories of his time there, but it had been a very long time. Years had gone by, and he didn’t have contact with who he had known there. But Gert Yorkes… that was one of the names. He closed his eyes, thinking back to different days. Peaceful days, fulfilling days, days before truths of society had closed in around him.

He flicked them back open and looked to his father, who was still saying words that Chase was having a hard time caring about. “When do we leave?” He asked, suddenly eager to go.


	2. Chapter 2

He was good at riding horseback. He was good at a lot of things he was expected to be good at, horses, hunting, swordplay. A proper young man in a lot of ways. An eligible bachelor who any young woman would be lucky to have the attention of, or that was the impression he knew he had. He’d been to a few tourneys, performed admirably in each though only won the once. There was a practiced ease to these things, and Chase had found pleasure in sweating under the sun, dust of the training kicked up by the footsteps, by the thrusting of people into the ground. He was adept at all of these things, things that the courts valued, things that the people seemed to enjoy. So why was it not enough? 

He rode down the road casually, a summer heat baking the mud into a hard clay. It was rainy near the capital, Chase remembered that. He remembered days spent celebrating in the midst of storms, running and playing with little regard for how wet they got. It was irrelevant to children after all, what mattered was how it felt, refreshing and cool. Splashing each other… Chase missed the lack of responsibility. He missed not caring about how the world saw him. As he rode, his parents in the carriage that carried also trunks, several guards also riding alongside, flying a banner of House Stein, he looked down the road. The capital’s walls stood in the distance, visible for the first time today. It was silly to think that returning would be enough to wash the responsibility, the burdens of a young heir away. He was going in order to get married too after all, and that was a taking on of burden wasn’t it? 

Chase sighed, shaking his head. He pulled at his canteen, bringing it up and drinking of it. It wasn’t just the return to the capital, he knew that. He was hoping that seeing Gert again, or, Gertrude, she would probably not be going by that nickname anymore would she? Then again, he still wasn’t going by Chasius, so… Anyway. He was hoping that Gert would be just as much fun as she had been before. He had always gotten along with her, he had always had fond memories of just the two of them. She liked the library at the capital, and Chase had never been much for the histories she read, but he stayed there with her until late into the evenings, sometimes chatting idly with her, sometimes working on his own things, sometimes doing literally nothing but listening to her scattered ramblings. 

He remembered one evening, one of their last, they were up there. He was going home soon, he’d gotten a squireship with a vassal knight to his house, or his father had gotten it for him, and then inbetween duties for the Sir, his father wanted a hands on tutelage. Teach him money, governance, all those things he’d never been good at. It hadn’t taken long for his father to quickly shift his opinion of Chase from promising young man to layabout who would drive his house into the ground. Anyway, that night they had been talking aimlessly, Chase reclining on the floor, staring up at the ceiling as Gert sat at a desk, reading but not really, because she couldn’t read and talk to him at the same time. She had complained about that before, but he knew she didn’t really mind the conversation, or, when she did mind she told him to shut up and he did. He didn’t know what was in the future. Gert seemed to. She had tons of ideas. Some of them were rather dour if he was being honest, but some of them were so hopeful. He wondered how many of them had come true.


	3. Chapter 3

He dressed quietly, alone in his room. He had that privilege as a man. He heard that the women were oft required to have attendants coming and trying to serve their every need, and that was to be expected. It seemed so… invasive. And like such a fuss. Chasius adjusted his doublet in the mirror, glad to have the new clothing, it fit well, it looked nice, it felt comfortable. He looked good in the rather intricately patterned clothing, the shoulders jutting out, buttons up the chest and belt at the waist almost slimming. He smiled to himself, snagging a comb and again working through his hair, a bit of a nervous tic for him.

She was to be at the dinner tonight, and he would see her there. It was only a matter of tens of minutes, which in the grand scheme of the years was a heartbeat. Chase could feel his excitement grow. He’d never favored the idea of an arranged marriage as he’d grown up, it had seemed silly and trivial. Marry some random woman he cared nothing for? He’d do it of course, Chase was not… prone to breaking a trend, a tradition, but it had seemed distasteful to him. Now though, of course, everything was different. In his assorted thoughts across the year, when he thought about the type of woman that he wouldn’t mind marrying, that he wouldn’t mind courting and performing in front of others with… He thought about Gert. Gertrude. She was smarter than he was, with a knack for everything he’d always felt he’d been bad at. They complemented each other, like two pieces of a machine made to fit right together. Or, they had. Only thing to find out now was if that was going to be true even now, after all the years.

Chase set the comb down on the dresser, and looked into the mirror. He frowned, not seeing a child there. Why continue hoping to get something back that all people lost? Because if he stopped he didn’t have much else to be hoping for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise next chapter we get Gert, and then there'll be more characters too! Didn't mean to string y'all along lol


	4. Chapter 4

Chase walked, helping his mother through the stone hallways, her arm intertwined with his. His father was… not feeling well, or, he was probably fine just didn’t want to deal with other people so he had abandoned the dinner. It was a bad showing as far as Chase was concerned, but what did he know about politics? Only what his father had taught him, so… suppose he had to trust him on that note. His mother was talking about the luxury of the capital, about what she had access to, about the people she could see again, and Chase was half-listening, but not because he didn’t want to hear her out, but rather that his heart just felt like it was going to beat out of his chest and he could barely focus on making sure they didn’t get lost, his brain… fragmented.

Finally, he turned a corner, making into a dining room, not the expansive great hall, inappropriate for what would really be a small, two family affair. Of course the king and queen and prince had been invited, it would be rude not to invite them given it was occurring in their own home, but they had insisted they not come. So… just him and Gert. And his mom and her mom and her dad. Essentially just them. The chamber was well-lit, the table long enough for probably twice as many people as were going to sit if not more, set but no food yet, the kitchen staff littered about the exits seemed ready to go get it upon being prompted. And… No Gert. He guided his mother to a seat, and sat next to her, then sat. Waited. Drank some of the wine, perhaps that would settle some of his nerves. Talked to his mother.

It felt like forever, sitting, waiting, when it really couldn’t have been more than a few minutes given they talk about more than the stables and the horses available here before he heard other chatter, from a hallway across the way. Chase quickly shifted in his seat, looking, trying to catch a sight around the corner to see who was there, to see her. Another half a moment, another heartbeat, and yes. People. Chase stood up suddenly, pushing to his feet, sucking in his breath. 

She was stunning, gown cascading over her shorter frame, hair cropped short but held back over her ears with hair clips. She walked not with grace but with determination, and her face was not cloaked with a smile but rather plain with an expression of doubtful disinterest. Chase breathed. She looked like he had always thought she might but.... More. Her parents quickly came over, shaking his hand, shaking his mother’s, asking after his father to which Chase provided the response, he was tired from the travel and could not make it, but his eyes… couldn’t stay off her. 

They sat down. Dinner came, an appetizer course of fresh bread and roast pheasant. The Lord and Lady Yorkes asked after his squireship, to which he responded amiably, talking about the good memories he’d had under Sir Hunter. He talked fondly of the tournament he’d won, it was one of his most proud moments really (but he noticed quietly Gert withdrawing even further, perhaps even an eyeroll?). The conversation flowed as an entree came out, a hearty barley stew and a duck. His mother conversed about something, asking after their lands, how trade had been, and they idly talked about economics and politics for a little bit, in a polite manner of course, the Yorkes and his mother were nothing if not polite. Were his father here maybe the conversation would have gone slightly differently, but he wasn’t, so it didn’t. 

“How have you been Gert...rude?” Chase took advantage of a moment of silence. He had hardly been able to stop thinking of her, didn’t matter what conversation, what he was eating, Gert had his attention. She’d said little, bordering on nothing the whole evening and he… he wanted to hear her. His mother tapped him lightly on the arm and he shook his head. “Lady Gertrude,” He corrected himself.

She leveled her eyes at him, silence growing in the space, meals essentially finished, as if displeased with him. He bit at his lip nervously, thinking that he’d done something wrong, but not sure what… And she wasn’t giving him any hints, that was for sure. The silence began to crowd, overstay its welcome, before, finally, finally, she spoke again. “I’ve been good Sir Chase. Reading a lot.” Somehow… and he wasn’t sure how, but that was a dig at him.

“I remember that about you. Always reading.” He said, after a moment had passed, trying to tie something to their shared history. She had to remember that. He wasn’t sure if she looked upon it as fondly as he did, but there had to be some kind of fondness there right?

“Well, someone has to learn right?” She bit, not too viciously, the tone was more experimental than that. A testing of the water, seeing how he’d react before she went in for the kill. He did not react with grace, brows knitting confused, leaning backwards in his seat, hurt. “Some of us choose to do the hard things for a greater good. Learn about the weaknesses instead of luxuriating in them.” Gert seized the opportunity. The parents leaped into action, attempting to assuage what had suddenly occurred, the Yorkes trying to assure that Gert didn’t mean it, his mother trying to say that Chase hadn’t meant to offend, a flurry of words exchanged before Gert again brought all the attention to herself. “I think I will retire for the evening. It was a pleasure Lady Stein. Sir Chase,” She pronounced his name with thinly veiled disgust, then pushed to her feet, the chair scooting back, and she left. Chase watched her go. 

The Yorkes fussed about, apologizing and excusing before they departed, and Chase escorted his mother back, who was genuinely unimpressed with her son’s betrothed. But things were all but sealed at this point, and a little unpleasant behavior was not an excuse to call off a political deal of this nature. Chase couldn’t care about the conversation though, stuck in his own thoughts. She believed he had failed her. Failed their promises. Their goals. But those had been the thoughts of children hadn’t they? Nothing serious… Except they had been for her.


	5. Chapter 5

“She just doesn’t want to get married,” Margaret insisted. Little Molly had always been the youngest fellow noble that he had been friends with, but Gert’s sister and he had something of a special relationship. She was easy to talk to, and Chase had never been prone to treating her like a child. They got along very well, and he was glad to see her again, walking with her through the stone corridors of the capital, passing other gossiping nobles and servants working and any number of other people. There were so many people here after all, it felt like home was a ghost town compared to here. “She’s never wanted to. Thinks it’s demeaning to women, treating us like pawns. Which I… I guess. The point is I don’t think she’s mad at you! Just mad at the situation.” Chase shrugged, a little slumped in his posture, even Molly’s bright nature not quite resonating with him at the moment.

“I don’t know Molly… You weren’t there. She called me out.” Chase lamented with a sigh. “Back when we all hung out, she always talked to me about things like that. I mean, her arguments weren’t as developed then, but the core was the same. Nobility was flawed, women aren’t treated fairly, the lower class deserve rights. Philosophy and political theory. And I would always agree with her. Talk about change.”

“She talks about that with everyone Chase,” Molly brought up again, her tone trying to be sensitive but clearly not understanding exactly what he was going on about. Honestly? He didn’t understand exactly what he was going on about. That had been a long time ago, and a lot had changed. Despite that, he thought he knew what was going through Gert’s head when she had said those things during the dinner.

“It was different back then. It was ours. Our dream, our hopes. And now she sees me, typical knight, excited about tourneys and good at court, polite and pleasant. And she sees a traitor, someone who didn’t change a thing.” Chase breathed deeply, head leaning back, and he ran his fingers through his hair, shutting his eyes. Molly seemed to detect his stress, and reached out, grabbing his arm, holding it until he finally looked at her. She gave him a broad smile.

“Things’ll work out. Now come on! I want to go get some bread.” Molly assured, then insisted that they speed along to their destination. An afternoon snack. Chase returned the smile with a bit of rue, still not certain that she was right, but definitely wanting some bread. He followed her as she sped up down the hallway.


	6. Chapter 6

Chase sweat the perfect amount. He had never seen himself while sweating, always sure to clean off before viewing himself in a mirror, but he could tell. Some men after a bit of sparring looked like they had gone through a rain storm while others were dry as a desert. Chase was neither, instead sweating enough to glisten, to cool and yet not soak. He’d always been confident, and after going through some sparring exercises with new nobles he’d never had the chance to fight before, he was feeling even more confident. It was a good fight, but he’d come out on top, and now he was riding a high of triumph. He took a rag from someone, and wiped the sweat from his face. Drank some water from a waterskin. Smiled and laughed as he collected his belongings, and began to step away, to head back to his room, change and clean himself up a little.

As he moved away though, his eyes caught a glimmer of purple, and he tracked the color. He had been since he’d seen her again, and it hadn’t worked out yet. But today it did. “Gert!” He called, and dashed forward, catching up as she looked over to find whoever had called her name. When she saw him, her expression was unreadable, but it wasn’t the most pleasant thing he’d seen. “I’m sorry, Lady Gertrude. I just thought, perhaps we should walk together. Where are you headed?” He suggested. This boldness was perhaps better considered as impetuousness, but fresh off his victories in the ring, well, Chase felt undefeatable.

“Oh, just… to the gardens. I was meeting with Nicole and Karolina there.” She said, hesitating for a moment, and Chase wondered whether she had been contemplating a lie. Or perhaps she had formulated the lie and then told him. 

“Ah, I haven’t had the chance to see them yet! Please, allow me to accompany you. It’s a shame I’m not formally dressed, but we’re all friends, aren’t we?” His mother would not be happy with him for this, his father furious, but they were not here, so he was going to let his own impulses guide him. She seemed lost for words, perhaps trying to come up with a way to tell him no, before finally she instead just turned on her heels and began to walk.

“If you must,” was her only response to his request to join her. Chase stepped quickly to catch up, and began walking alongside her, shrugging on a jacket of sorts atop his undershirt and attempting to button it while walking.

“I know that you’re not… happy with me but I would like to get to know you. Catch up. It’s been a while after all, I want to know how you’ve been.” He requested genially, not letting her aggressive lack of a look towards him scare him off. Chase was riding high, and he really really wanted to talk to Gert. 

“What would tell you that I’m not happy with you? I’m perfectly fine with you, Sir Chase,” She returned, though again, she was not looking at him, and Chase knew well that her tone, one of aggressive neutrality, was dishonest. No one talked like that if they were speaking their mind.

“If you say so,” Chase returned, shrugging mildly, letting it die. If she didn’t want to admit that she was mad at him, he wouldn’t push. He was pretty sure he knew why she was mad at him anyway, and it had to do with fighting people for glory and sport opposed to learning and preaching change, like she did. “But we are going to be married,” He could almost feel the waves of anger waft off her in that moment, at that statement. “So, surely we can talk about things? Like how you’ve been?” She hadn’t answered that question after all. Well, she had during the dinner, but not really.

“I don’t see why our impending marriage demands we must speak with each other,” She finally looked at him, made eye contact, and he could sense that he had made a misstep, the look in her eyes was one of defiance, pure challenge. “Why, most women hardly meet their groom until they’re walking down the aisle in a gown, and afterwards, conversations may be anything from consistently awkward to nonexistent.” Dammit if she wasn’t smart. Talked circles around him, around everyone he’d had the pleasure of watching her talk to. 

“Alright,” Chase said. Back up, think about what she said, even as she’s turning her eyes away from you and you want to chase them, to earn her sight, what is your response? She doesn’t want to engage with a charming Sir Chasius Stein who coincidentally is also her betrothed, she never has. “Can you talk to me as a friend? We’re that aren’t we?” He tested, tilting his head slightly, unsure about where the conversation would flow next.

She paused for a moment longer, still not looking at him, he had an urge to step in front of her, block her path, just so she would look at him, but he didn’t, because he knew she would hate that and that the urge was not something productive. “We’re not.” Ouch. That one stung, and he frowned at it. “We were that. I’ll concede that. But given we haven’t spoken in many years, I am not comfortable assigning us the title of friends. Acquaintances, perhaps.” 

“Acquaintances talk.” Chase took advantage of an opportunity he saw, to say something to further the idea that she did indeed have to talk to him, because evidently, if she did not have to, she would not. Gert was quiet for several moments, before finally speaking up in response again.

“I suppose they do. But only about small things, like the weather. I’m quite enjoying the weather today, are you, Sir Chase?” Everytime she said the “sir”, it felt like she was making an effort to make it sound like the worst insult she could imagine. And knowing her as he did, he imagined that it was something like that. Still though. He had managed to get her to have a conversation with her, though, hadn’t they been having a conversation this whole time really?

“I am enjoying it indeed! Lovely breeze, warm sun, cloudless sky, hard to say anything is truly wrong with it right? If it were raining for example, I could never be enjoying this walk with you to catch up with some old friends.” Chase presented, cheery now, feeling like he’d made a breakthrough, even though he had really only managed to make this girl that he was deeply deeply infatuated with concede that they were acquaintances. He could say the same thing about the servant boy who had served him breakfast. Still. Progress had been made, a river forded.

“No, you wouldn’t.” She stopped talking again after that. So maybe his celebration had been preemptive. They walked in silence for a bit further, passing through hedges and younger children, children who were going through the period of life that the two of them had shared here, ran past them, streaking through and chasing butterflies or playing tag. “I’d be in a library, reading, away from you and everyone else.” She said, as if having just made that decision, or maybe just coming to the realization that it had to be said. 

Chase continued to feel… a little hurt. If he was being honest. He could know, could reason, she was lashing out because he had upset her and moreover she was being subjected to something she had little to no desire to enjoy, but that didn’t make this kind of, insisted upon desire to not be near him didn’t hurt. He thought… he thought they had a connection. Chase earnestly, honestly felt, that he could be a different person around her than he could be around everyone else. And he wanted to prove that too. If only she would give him the chance to do just that. 

“And here we are!” Gert remarked, as they turned a corner, and indeed, Nicole and Karolina sat close by to each other, chatting energetically. As they heard Gert’s voice they turned, and smiled, and stood, and then seemed perhaps a hair confused as they realized that Chase was with her.

“I hope, fair ladies, you don’t mind my intrusion. I was hoping to get a chance to see you two again, now that we are in the city!” He said, bowing politely, generously, as he had been taught to do of course. There still seemed to be some hesitation, perhaps some looking to Gert as if looking for her for understanding about where she stood on this line. But regardless, eventually he was welcomed into their small circle. The afternoon stretched on, Gert still… abnormally quiet, but Nico and Karolina were indeed just as he’d remembered. A good conversation. He excused himself before the time came for the dinner hour, allowing them their privacy for whatever they had planned to speak of before he’d interrupted. And he walked away feeling… like there was perhaps a light at the end of this tunnel he was walking.


	7. Chapter 7

“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong Chase!” The Prince lamented as they rode through the woods, a small entourage joining them. Dogs trotted alongside the horses, happily sniffing the beleafed ground, looking for the scent of prey for their masters to hunt. Chase fingered his bowstring absentmindedly, listening to Prince Alexander’s ramblings about what had occurred in their absence. It had taken a little of prompting, and Chase and Alex had never had the greatest relationship, but eventually they’d slided into easy conversation. And with easy conversation and old friends, conversation had eventually shifted into talking about their problems. “You know I thought things were going well, and then I made… one mistake, and then Karolina came back to the capital, and suddenly it’s as if I don’t exist.” Alex had been hoping for a betrothal to the Lady Nicole for a long time, and though his courtship had been progressing in that direction, Chase was learning now that it wasn’t going to work out. He nodded to himself, thinking that “wasn’t going to work out” sounded so familiar.

“Tell me about it,” Chase said, complaining idly, letting out a frustrated sigh. “I thought that my betrothal was perfect, and then I got here, and even before I said a word it was like she had decided I was garbage.” They all knew who he was talking about, Alex had been friends with Gert the same as he had been, well not exactly the same, Chase and Gert had always been the closest with each other in so many ways, and he was also in the know about her continued snubbing of him. It was all the rage in terms of court gossip after all, Sir Chasius, handsome eligible bachelor and personal friend of the Prince’s rejected by his betrothed? It was so juicy it seemed almost absurd. Chase sighed. He didn’t care about all that, he just wanted her to talk to him, to let him in again… Was that so hard to give him? Apparently the answer was yes.

“She’s always been idealistic. The idea of marriage always bothered her, I don’t know.” Alex tried to assuage him, but Chase had gone over every interaction he’d had with her, every little memory. Had he made a promise and broken it? Had he ignored her one time when it was incredibly important?

“It’s not just that though. I feel like… I feel like she’s mad at me personally. Of course she’d be mad about getting married to anyone that wasn’t distinctly her choice, but she’d at least talk to them about it. She likes to talk…” He trailed off, thinking how much indeed he liked to listen to her talk, and how much her denying him that pleasure bothered him, upset him, frustrated him. He felt like he could cry some nights. He hadn’t quite gotten there yet but he was real close. One really good, poignant call out probably. 

“Is there anything you could do to show her that you’re someone other than who everyone thinks you are? I know you’re smart, you’ve got lots of smarts in that book you’ve got,” The journal held in his belt pouch suddenly felt like it was burning as Chase blushed. It was secret for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was how stupid it seemed to him, ideas and ideas and plans and plans and not a single thing to show for it. “She would see that as valuable you know,” Alex turned to look at him, but Chase refused to make eye contact, merely looking forwards as they rode, thinking. The idea that anyone would find it valuable felt… absurd to him, but Alex had thought it neat, not just neat, but revolutionary in a lot of ways. They’d talked about that for a long while on their hunt, before the talk turned to the women. So maybe she would. Chase shrugged.

“I don’t know. How would I even bring it up? She won’t talk to me about anything other than the weather.” Chase said, shaking his head lightly.

“Better come up with a weather machine then!” The Prince laughed brightly, and at that moment, the dogs started barking loudly, and charging forward. “Come on! A good hunt story will at least distract you a little!” Alex said, spurring on his horse and following after the dogs. Chase watched for a moment, thinking… No, he definitely had no idea how to create a weather machine. He’d have to come up with something else. He started to pursue the rest of the hunt.


	8. Chapter 8

Chase relaxed on a chaise, though not in the gardens. There were too many people here compared to his home, and to be out in the gardens, even this early, would be to invite too much attention, and Chase hated attention when it came to this. So instead he was here in the library, where while there were some people, there were few that would engage with Sir Chasius, and no one would think reading and writing was a weird thing to do here. He chewed on the end of his stylus, looking over his work, trying to figure out what exactly he was doing. The plans were almost complete, almost through, and then… then what? Well, he intended to just move along to the next idea. The next concept. 

Anyway, he’d run into a rut. This calculation wasn’t working out in a way that he thought he could build, and even though he’d never built any of his plans, that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to build every single one. It was just… attention, you know? If writing and drawing in the gardens was too much, then his attempts to build a new waterwheel would definitely be too much. He swore lightly to himself, tossing down the stylus onto the journal and lounging back, grimacing at the journal.

“Something wrong?” A voice. A pretty voice, a familiar voice, one he had been denied too often. Quickly Chase turned to look, and found Gert, standing there, purple dress, piercing gaze, and… she wasn’t smiling, but she wasn’t scowling either. She seemed genuine in her curiosity, and dare he say concern? No, he didn’t. But curiosity was one thing. Chase flashbacked to his conversation with Alex from the last chapter, show her your journal, she’d think it’s interesting, which he hadn’t done because it had seemed an awkward thing to do, but if she was asking…

“Trying to calculate the width of the lens I need for this invention,” He said, his tone still frustrated, but inviting. He gestured for her to come over. She seemed to hesitate, and he worried that he’d lose her again, that she’d leave again and then he’d be right where he started. Alex could be wrong, wouldn’t be the first or the last time he was wrong about something. But no, she moved over, and Chase shifted, sitting up so there was room for her to join him on the couch. She sat primly, and Chase resisted the urge to look at her and to smile and to say thank you for coming and sitting with him without him having to push her to. He put his journal inbetween them, showing her the math he was working on, the radius of the lens he’d calculated was too small to be made with any kind of consistency. He flipped back a couple of pages to show her the initial diagram. “I call it a looker,” 

“That’s a stupid name,” She quickly retorted and he laughed, shaking his head. He glanced and she was smirking slightly. She was engaged! God he could leap into the air, scream from the towers. But try not to freak out too much there Chase, or she’ll probably notice and then realize that she’s doing something she’d been trying to avoid doing for a few weeks now. “Anyway, continue,”

“I came upon descriptions of lenses being used by people to magnify or make things closer seem further, and after I researched a little more and found some myself I thought… that I could combine them like this,” He pointed to the lenses in their wood casing in the diagram. “To magnify things that are really far away. Like…” He paused, his hands up in the air frozen in his gesturing as he tried to find an example. “Like the moon. To make it look like the moon was right next to you.”

As he stopped, he looked back to her, but she wasn’t looking at him, just at the journal, having taken it into her hands. She started flicking back more pages, where there were more calculations, more dimensions and diagrams and rants about other ideas. Lots and lots of ideas, some of which had worked out (the flying machine looked stupid and seemed absurd but by his math… it should work out), and others that hadn’t (he hadn’t cracked weather machine). Chase didn’t say anything, afraid of breaking the moment for her, afraid of making her realize that she hated him for who he was instead of who she had dreamed they could be. So he just watched her flick.

“You think this’ll work?” She asked, pointing to a time-teller. Gert hadn’t looked at him in a good few minutes, and though she’d scrolled past several far worse and far more preposterous ideas, this was apparently the moment it had gone too far. 

“Uh… yes. Yeah, if you can establish something to get the gears turning, they’ll turn at a consistent enough rate to track the passage of time. It was just a matter of creating something that’ll power them, which if you’ll keep going,” She flicked a few more pages before he stopped her by putting his fingers on the page. “Battery. This one is pretty out there I know but…” 

“Chase. Shut up.” He did so, watched her face contort into an expression of confusion, before she managed to decipher his notes and shorthand and calculations, and understand exactly what he’d done. He smiled. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d wanted to share his innovations until he’d been able to talk for hours with Alex, but this? With her, Gertrude Yorkes, actually looking at them? So much better. And she had even told him off a little! Why did he want that so bad?

He knew why. The moment she had told him that, was the moment he was reminded again of how things used to be. Of how he wanted things to be again. Something casual, fun, light and teasing, that was what he wanted. When he had envisioned marrying Gert on the ride here to the capital from home, that was what he envisioned. A life with someone friendly, who saw the best parts of him and appreciated them, who saw things the way they really were and not just the things he did to spend time, to fit in. Unfortunately, once he’d gotten here, he’d found that in fact, she only saw the things he did to fit in. Until this moment. Chase took a deep relieved breath. 

He stayed silent for a long time, just enjoying the time with her, letting her go over his notes and book, answered a few questions here and there but didn’t let himself ramble too much, just… doing as she asked him to. And then eventually, she seemed to come to some sort of realization, and quickly flicked through well used pages to get back to the looker. “So before, back when you were first dealing with those lenses, you made a note that it wouldn’t be too hard to get the lenses with a different width. And if those change then this number,” she pointed, “also changes.” 

“Oh fuck you’re right…” He grabbed his stylus and began scratching things out, rewriting, and as he did so, she handed the journal back over. “And then… Thanks so much Gert. Really.” He stopped writing, making eye contact directly. She pursed her lips, as if unsure how she wanted to react to this. Then she nodded.

“You’re welcome. And then she stood, walked over to the shelves and selected a book, and left the library. Chase watched her leave, and once she was gone breathed deeply. Had he made progress? Had she changed her mind at all? What was next for them? He looked back to the journal, and quickly scrawling, finished his calculations. Then he smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

“Margaret! Meg! Molly! Molls!” Chase called for her repeatedly, rushing to catch up with the younger woman, who was talking with some of her other friends. Gaining her attention she glanced over to look at Chase, and waved a goodbye to her fellows, moving over to talk to him, her head already tilted in a question of what do you need and why do you need it so bad? Chase stood there, and talking with his hands as he vocalized his needs. “I know you used to go places that you were not supposed to go, all over the castle.” She nodded along, yes, she had had an aptitude for exploration that hadn’t been shared by many of her friends, though she’d persuaded each of them to come along from time to time. “Okay, so is there an unused room, high up in a tower or something somewhere?”

Sha paused, seeming to think and Chase held his breath. He had an idea, but he wasn’t sure how it’d work out. First things first though, he needed a spot. The more secluded the spot the better, of course, he didn’t want any interruptions. This would take some doing after all. Chase would also need wood and tools and glass, he had to contract a glassmaker with a very odd request, and they’d have to be a very good glassmaker. He was about to ask Molly if she knew any very good glassmakers when she nodded, and he remembered that he’d asked her a question. Chase was… up. He was frenetic and energetic, empowered by this idea and the need to get things done.

“Yep! Come on, I’ll show you. Keep track of the paintings you pass, that’s how I was always able to know where I was,” She said, and began to quickly lead the way, moving past him the way he’d come, and swiftly diverting into a stairwell that she began to climb. He caught up to her on the stairs, Molly’s seemingly endless energy was a hell of a phenomenon but Chase was fortunately athletic enough to race up the stairs with her. As they slipped through hallways, some of which seemed barely used, she pointed down directions, stating that “down that way is the kitchens,” or a wing of rooms, or her quarters, and Chase was impressed with not only how much she knew, but just how much castle there was, and how little he’d seen. He’d just… never been much for going off the beaten path. He’d gotten in trouble with Gert for that habit. Chase told himself he’d make it a habit to try and do a little more exploring himself once he was done with this job.

“Here,” She said, and pushed open a door after climbing some stairs for a while. He followed shortly behind as Molly gestured widely to the expanse of the room


End file.
